Carrier for braiding machines



June 28,1938. A. PETERSEN 2,122,292

CARRIER FOR BRAIDING MACHINES Filed Sept. 21, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2/ 27 1 E J i 9/ a I /0 a l ,8 9d 9 /y I I J $11M I 1 x A 72 Z'er Petersen,

'22 K Q W June 28, 1938.

PETERSEN CARRIER FOR BRA IDING MACHINES 2 Sheets Sheet 2 Filed'Sept, 21. 1937 17 0672912 Anita? Petersen Atzfys.

Patented June 28, 1938 ATE.

v ,122,292 CARRIER FOR BRAID-ING MACHINES Anker Petersen, Boston, Mass, assignor to James JosephLannon, West Newton, Mass.

Application September 21, 1937, Serial No. 164,891

18 Claims.

This'invention pertains to braiding'machines, especially machines of the general type disclosed in the patent to Petersen No. 1,796,938, dated March 17, 1930, and relates moreparticularly tclosed in-the aforesaid application, I' find thatunder certain conditions it is preferable to form each fiat strand by disposing a plurality of small independent filaments, such, for example, as 20 metal wires, in parallel relation and in substantially the same plane, rather than to use an integral-metal ribbon, and the principal object of the present invention is to providea carrieroperative to support -a' series of spools or bobbins each carrying a'supply of fine'wire or the like and with provision for properlytensioning the wires-from the several bobbins and for delivering the several wires in substantially parallel relation in readiness :for assembly to form a; flat strand.

Afurther object is toprovide a carrier comprising simple and efiective feeler or detector means cooperable witheach individual bobbin of the carrier and-operative in response to substantial or complete exhaustion of the wire mass on any-bobbin to initiate operation of a stop motion. A further object of the invention is to provide a simple means for receiving and supporting the several bobbins-in the carrier in such a way as to permit removal of any individual bobbin and its replacement withoutdisturbing the other bobbins in the carrier,

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be made manifest in the following more detailed-description and by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. -1 is a 'plan'view, with certain parts broken away, illustrating a bobbin carrier embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the carrier of Fig. 1 viewed from the left-hand side of the latter figure;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section, to larger scale,

substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating 55 a carrier of another type;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the carrier of Fig. 4, viewed from the left-hand side of said figure, and partially in vertical section substantially-on the line 5-5 of. Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary diagrammatic plan view, tosmaller'scale, illustrating a braidingmachine of the type to which the present invention relates and showing the relative position of the inner and outer sets of bobbin carriers, and the location of stop mechanism parts.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l designates a bobbin carrier embodying certain features of the-present invention, such carrier being designed to constitute oneofthe inner setof-carriers of. a braiding-machine of the type above referred to. This carrier comprises a rigid frame 2 having -a guide roll 3 at its inner end designed'to run in a circular track 'or guideway l (Fig. 6) forming an element of the braiding machine. Thecarrier is also furnished with guide rolls 5at its outer end designed to engage a groove-or g-uideway in the inner surface of'the ring 6 (Fig. 6) forming an element of the braiding machine. Preferably the rolls-3 and 5 are mounted on anti-friction bearings and are of.- seli-lubricating type, as, described for example in the patent to Petersen, No. 1,796,938, dated March 1'7, 1931.

In accordance withthe present invention, a fixed shaft '1' (Fig. 1) is arranged to extend transversely across the frame Z'from one side to the other and on this shaft there is mounted aseries-of bobbin supports 8. These bobbin supports are preferably blade-like members each pivoted at one end upon the shaft 1, the several supports 8--being held in properly spaced relation by means of sleeves 9 mounted on the shaft 1 between adjacent supports. Each of the-supports 8 is furnished with a bobbin-receiving stud 9 the several studs being axially alignedand fixed to the supports intermediate'the'ends of the latter, preferably being arranged so thateach stud projects laterally from the corresponding side of its support. Each stud is of such diameter as to receive one of the bobbins or spools I0 on which the wire or other strand-forming material is wound. I

In order to maintain the supports 8 in parallel relation, (it being noted that these supports are quite narrow ina horizontal direction so as to 5 save space) the free ends of. the several supports are designed to be received in slots or sockets, formed in a substantially vertical plate ll provided with a horizontal flange 12 (Fig. 3) by.

means of which it is secured .to the carrier :frame;

The slots in the plate II are of a width such as snugly to receive the free ends of the blade-like supports 8, such slots forming in efiect sockets into which the ends of the supports may be swung downwardly and thus held in operative position.

In order to prevent accidental escape of the ends of the supports from their sockets, spring clips or latches i 3 are arranged along the outer side of the plate ll, said spring clips or latches being held in proper position by means of a clamping plate i l. Each of the supports 8 is preferably furnished with a notch l5 (Fig. 3) at its free end, and this notch is designed to receive the. corresponding spring clip or latch I3 so as to hold the support in normal operative position. However, the spring latch may readily be disengaged manually when it is desired to swing a given support upwardly about the axis of shaft 7, thereby to raise its stud 9 up to a position in which the bobbin may be placed on or removed from the stud.

In order to tension the strand-forming wires from the several bobbins, the carrier is provided with a rotary shaft l6 substantially parallel to the shaftl, and this shaft i6 is furnished with a ratchet wheel H at the outer side of the frame, and a pawl I8 is engageable with the ratchet wheel for holding the shaft l 6 in any desired position of rotational adjustment. Fixed to the shaft i6 is a series of resilient tension fingers l9 (Fig. 2). Each of these fingers preferably consists of a length of fiat spring wire doubled at its mid-point in its own plane so as to form a smoothly curved end lQb (Fig. l) and to provide two substantially parallel runs of the flat resilient material. The free end of each of these two runs is coiled to form a spring in the nature of a clock spring, and the inner end of each spring coil is fixed to the shaft IS. The free ends of the tension members l9 are arranged to underly the sev- :eral bobbins and the tension applied may be varied and predetermined by turning the shaft l8 and then holding it in adjusted position by means of the ratchet l1 and pawl I8.

When tensioning slippery material like fine wire, paper, yarn, or the like, it is quite desirable to provide the tension fingers with some nonmetallic substance to bear against the material on the bobbin in order to furnish a more uniform and reliable tension. For this purpose it has 1 been found that braided textile material threaded over the flat ribbon-like element forming the tension arm l9 affords the desired tensioning action and results in a uniform delivery of the strand-forming material. Thus, for example, be-

fore the fiat metal ribbon forming the tension finger is doubled, a'length of tubular textile braid may be threaded over the metal ribbon, after which the metal may be bent as above described, thus providing the tensioning finger with the desired contact surface. On the other hand, if desired the textile material or its equivalent may be slipped onto the tension finger after the latter has beencompleted and secured to the shaft I6. While braided textile fiber has been suggested as a desirable material, it is contemplated that many other substances may be useful for' pending application for Letters Patent above re- 75" ferred. to, there is provided a Stop mechanism which operates automatically in response to the exhaustion of strand from any of the bobbins of either the inner or outer series. This stop motion includes a downwardly directed finger F (Fig. 6) which, when swung out of its normal vertical position, breaks an electrical circuit and thereby causes the machine to stop. Since the stop mechanism itself is fully described in the aforesaid application, it is unnecessary to describe it further in detail here, but in accordance with the presentinvention the carriers are furnished with devices for actuating the finger F upon exhaustion of thestrand from any spool of any carrier.

For this purpose, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the carrier is provided near its outer end with a transverse support or shaft 2! suitably fixed in position and provided with a series of forwardly and upwardly projecting brackets 22 (Fig. 3) corresponding in number to the several bobbin supports 8. Each of these brackets 22 is furnished with a pivot stud 23 upon which is mounted a feeler or detector lever 24, one end of which is designed to rest upon the strand-forming material on the bobbin, while the other end 25 is designed at times to be so positioned as to engage and actuate a finger F carried by a shaft, mounted to turn in the ring 6 and having a finger F (Fig. 6) which may be positioned to engage the stop mechanism finger F. Each detector finger 24 is provided with a spring 26, preferably of the clock-spring type, designed 'to'press the free end of the lever into contact with the strand-forming material on the corresponding bobbin. So long as the free end of the detector 24 is supported by strand-forming material, it occupies substantially the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3, but upon exhaustion of the strand-forming material the spring 26 is enabled to swing the detector to the broken line position of Fig. 3 in which its end 25 is directed vertically up and is thus positioned .to engage the finger F during the revolution of the carrier and thus to cause the stop motion to act and stop the machine.

When the machine is stopped, the operator disengages the spring clip l3 from the bobbin support 8 upon which the exhausted bobbin is mounted and swings the support up about the shaft 1 so as to clear its stud 9 from the other supports, thus permitting the operator to remove the empty bobbin from the stud and to replace it with a filled bobbin. The operator then swings the detector finger 24 back to its normal position,drops the end of the bobbin support back into its slot in the plate H, and engages the spring clip 3 with the notch l 5, thus placing the bobbin in operative position. The strand from the bobbin may now be led through the proper guides to the braiding point and the machine may again be started. I

Referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the numeral I designates a carrier of the outer series, such carrier comprising the frame 29 which is open at top and bottom and which supports the fixed transverse shaft 30 (Fig. 5) on which is mounted a series of blade-like bobbin supports 3i. The free ends of these bobbin supports are received in narrow vertical slots or sockets in the upper edge of the inner wall 29a of the carrier frame, and these free ends of the supports are normally held in the slots by means of the spring clips 32 fixed to the wall 29* and which are releasably received in notches 33 at thefree ends of the supports 3!. Each support 3l is furnished with a bobbin receiving stud fil (Fig. 4) and the several supports are spaced apart by means of collars 32 on the shaft and intervenin guide-pulleys 32' also mounted. on: the shaft 30; Each guide pulley 32 is so disposed. as to receive the strand from aspoolmount'ed on the corresponding stud 3M and to deliver such strandz.

at a point "outside of 'the'out'erwallofthe carrier frame.

Below the shaft 3D1ithere is" mounted a rotat able tension'supp'orting: shaft or." rod 34 (Fig.5)

to which are fixed the inner. ends of clock. spring coils constitutingintegralparts/of resilient tension fingersifi similar t'othe tension: fingers 19 above described. 'Eachofthe tension fingers 35 may be provided withresilient yieldable contact material 36 such as described in. connection with:

the tension-fingers-of carrier. t.

Near theforward end of the carrier there is arranged a fixed tr-an'svers'e' shaft. 36 provided with aseries of upstanding brackets 31 Cone spending in number: to: the number of bobbins .in Fig. 5:so a's to'contact with'th'e' strand-forming material on the corresponding bobbin;

About midway between the inner and outer endsioffthe frame oftheicarrierthereis mounted a rock shaft M (Fig. 5) provided nearits oppoi-site ends, at points just. inside the frame; with arms 42.: which support a contact rod" 43 extending transversely across: the carrier. The rock shaft H is also provided. withv a lever" arm 44 wh'ich isengaged :by 'azlight spring A 5 which tends .toholclrthe :arm Miin full'line position of Fig. 5

so that arm's's l2i' extend upward'ly'a'nd occupy the full=line position shown in Fig. 4.

Mounted on studs projecting from. the outer surface of the'outer wall. "of: the frame 29 is a "series of guidet-roll'sorpulleys 46 (Fig; 5). Each of these guide rolls or pulleys preferably is .groove'di'and is designed toreceive one of the wires from; one-of the bobbins: after the wire leavesthe-corresponding gui'dei'pull'ey 32 The :ypulleys 32 *and' M5 'areso? arrangedthat' a wire,

after leaving the spool, is guided to the outer side of-the frame and then "downwardly in paral lel relation to the-outer surface of theframe of the carrier, and from theseveral pulleys 4-6 the wires are designed to 'extendin substantially parallel'relation to a guide pulley (suchxasthe'pulley '86 'of my aforementioned copending application) "carried. by the" ring 6 01 the braiding machine.

'If a strand-forming wire carried by one of the bobbins of the carrier i is exhausted, the feeler finger 3'9 dropsan'd in so dropping engages the contact rocl 43, thus. swinging the arms 42' downwardly and raising'th'e arm 44 into the path of the finger F so that 'as'the carrier revolves the finger F is actuated and thus the machine is stopped. When the machine has been stopped, the bobbin support 3| may be disengaged from the spring clip 32 and raised'so as to clear its stud ill with the bobbin thereon. from the adjacent supports '31. thus enablin the operator to remove the empty bobbin and replace it with a filled bobbin. The free end of the carrier -3l may then be dropped down into its slot in the wall 29 of the carrier and reengaged with its spring clip 32. The wire from the bobbin is then let over the corresponding" 'It is thus manifest'that in accordance with the-presentinvention' both the carriers of the innerxandi outer sets are adapted to receive a substantial number of bobbins, all alike and all inic'o'axi'alrelationship, and all so supported that they may: :readily be removed individually for replenishment. It is further manifest that the carriers of both the inner and outer sets are furnishe'dtwith effective tensioning means for each ibobbin and that the several carriers are furnished with stop motion actuating devices corresponding to eachindividual bobbin and all effective? to" initiate the operation of the stop motion; mechanism. of the machine.

While a certain desirable embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described by wayof example, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to this precise; embodiment but is to be regarded as broadly inclusive of any and all equivalent arrangements whichmay fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim;

1. A: bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising a frame open at its top, and means for supporting a series of bobbins in coaxial relation in the frame, the supporting means comprising parts individually movable upwardly out of the frame and so designed and arranged as to permit any selected bobbin to be removed without disturbing the others.

2. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising aframe and a series of bobbin supports each having a bobbin-receiving element, each bobbin support being movable independently of the others away from normal operative position: so-as to expose its bobbin-receiving element for the reception or removal of a bobbin.

3. A'bobbin-carrier for braiding machines comprising a frame, a plurality of bobbin supports carried' by the-frame, each support being independently movableto and from' operative position; and releasable means normally retaining each support in: operative position.

4. A bobbinucarrier. for braiding machines comprisinga frame, a plurality of bobbin supports each pivotally mounted: in the frame and movable. from a bobbin-receiving position toa normal operative position, and releasable latch means normally holding each support in the operative position.

5. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising a frame, a plurality of substantially parallel bobbin-supporting arms each pivotally mounted in. the frame, a bobbin-receiving stud projecting laterallyfrom each arm, the several arms being individ-ually movable" from a normal operative position-to a bobbin-receiving position, and releasable means for holding each arm in normal operative position.

6. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising'a frame, a plurality of substantially parallel blade-like"bobbin-supporting arms, each pivotallymounted adjacent to one of its ends so as to. swing about: a common axis, a bobbin-receiving stud projecting from one side of each arm intermediate the ends of' the latter, means providing a socket for the free end of each arm when inoperative position, and releasable means for retaining eachsuch end in its socket.

'7. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising a frame, a plurality of substantially parallelbobbin-supporting-arms, each pivotally mounte'd adjacent'to one end to swing about a common axis, each arm having a bobbin-receiving stud and each arm having a recessadjacent to its free end, and a spring latch engageable with the recess thereby releasably to Hold the arm in operative position.

8. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines Comprising a frame, a plurality of substantially parallel blade-like bobbin-supporting arms, each pivotally mounted adjacent to one end to swing about a common axis, a support extending transversely of said arms and having sockets for the reception of the free end of each arm, and a bobbin-receiving stud projecting from. one side of each arm, the several studs being coaxial and projecting from corresponding faces of the several arms.

9. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising a frame, means for supporting a series of bobbins in coaxial relation therein, and tension means for each of the bobbins so supported, said tension means comprising a rotatable shaft extending substantially parallel to the axes of the bobbins but spaced from the latter, a series of resilient tension arms each secured at one end to the shaft, each such arm having a free end portion designed to engage the material upon one of the respective bobbins, and adjusting means for holding the shaft in predetermined position thereby to permit the tension to be varied.

10. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising a frame, means for supporting a series of bobbins in coaxial relation therein, and tension means for each of the bobbins so supported, said tension means comprising a rotatable shaft extending substantially parallel to the axis of the bobbin but spaced from the latter, a series of resilient tension arms each secured at one end to the shaft, and pawl and ratchet means for adjustably holding the shaft in predetermined position thereby to permit the tension to be adjusted.

11. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising a frame, means for supporting a series of bobbins in coaxial relation therein, and tension means for each of the bobbins so supported, said tension means comprising a rotatable shaft extending substantially parallel to the axes of the bobbins but spaced from the latter, a series of tension arms each secured at one end to the shaft, each said arm comprising a length of resilient metal doubled to provide two adjacent substantially parallel portion-s integrally joined at the free end of the arm, the opposite end of each of said parallel portions being coiled like a clock spring, the inner end of each coil being fixed to the shaft. 7

12. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising a frame, means for supporting a series of bobbins in coaxial relation therein, and tension means for each of the bobbins so supported, said tension means comprising a rotatable shaft extending substantially parallel to the axis of the bobbin but spaced from the latter, a series of resilient tension arms each secured at one end to the shaft, each such arm comprising a length of resilient metal, and a sleeve of yieldable material telescoped over the metal forming the arm.

13. A braiding carrier for use in a braiding machine equipped with a stop-motion, mechanism, said carrier comprising a frame and means operative to support a series of bobbins in the frame in coaxial relation, and a strand exhaustion detector for each individual bobbin, each detector comprising a pivotally supported arm arranged to have its free extremity normally in contact with the material upon its respective bobbin, sup

porting means defining an axis parallel to the axes of the bobbins about which said detector may swing, and a spring normally urging said detector toward the material upon its respective bobbin.

14. A braiding carrier for use in a braiding machine equipped with a stop-motion mechanism, said carrier comprising a frame and means operative to support a series of bobbins in the frame in coaxial relation, and a strand exhaustion detector for each individual bobbin, the said detectors being so constructed and arranged that each will individually actuate the stop mechanism upon exhaustion of strand material from its corresponding bobbin.

15. A braiding carrier for use in a braiding machine equipped with a stop-motion mechanism, said carrier comprising a frame and means operative to support a series of bobbins in the frame in coaxial relation, and a stop-motion actuating arm mounted on the carrier, a series of coaxial detector levers mounted on the carrier, one for each bobbin, and an arm-actuating part engageable by any individual detector lever upon exhaustion of the material from its respective bobbin thereby to move said arm into stopping position.

16. A braiding carrier for use in a braiding machine equipped with a stop-motion mechanism, said carrier comprising a frame and means operative to support a series of bobbins in the frame in coaxial relation, a rock shaft mounted in the carrier substantially parallel to the axes of the bobbins, a stop-motion actuating arm fixed to said shaft, spring means normally holding said arm in inactive position, a pair of parallel arms secured to the rock shaft adjacent to opposite ends respectively of the carrier, at contact bar supported by said parallel arms, and a series of detector fingers mounted to swing about an axis substantially parallel to that of the bobbins, each detector finger normally contacting material upon a corresponding bobbin, each finger, when freed by exhaustion of said material, moving into engagement with said contact bar and thereby moving the actuating arm into operative position.

1'7. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising a frame having inner and outer walls, and means for supporting a series of bobbins in coaxial relation in the frame, and a series of strand guide pulleys each corresponding to one of the bobbins arranged adjacent to the outer wall of the frame, each pulley being so de-' signed as to receive a strand leading from the corresponding bobbin and to guide said strand over the edge of said outer wall.

18. A bobbin carrier for braiding machines comprising a frame having inner and outer walls, and means for supporting a series of bobbins in coaxial relation in the frame and a series of strand guide pulleys each corresponding to one of the bobbins arranged adjacent to the outer wall of the frame, each pulley being so designed as to receive a strand leading from the corresponding bobbin and to guide said strand over the edge of said outer wall, and a second series of guide pulleys disposed at the outer side of said wall, said latter pulleys turning in substantially the same plane and being arranged to receive strands from the several pulleys of the first set and to deliver the strands in paths substantially parallel to the outer surface of the outer wall of the carrier.

ANKER PETERSEN. 

